Robin "Roblimo" Miller, a Long-Time Voice of the Linux Community, Has Passed Away (wikipedia.org)

Reader rootmon writes: Our thoughts/prayers are with the family and friends of long time open source writer/journalist Robin "Roblimo" Miller who passed away this morning. Robin "Roblimo" Miller (born October 30, 1952) served as the Editor-in-Chief of Open Source Technology Group, the company which owned Slashdot, SourceForge.net, Freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, and ThinkGeek between 2000 to 2008. Miller formerly owned Robin's Limousine, a small limo company based in Elkridge, Maryland, the origin of his online nickname. Miller is best known for his involvement with Slashdot, where he was not only the corporate editorial overseer but also Interview Editor.

As a freelancer, Miller wrote for a number of print and online publications including Time.com, Baltimore City Paper, American Medical News, Innkeeping World, Machine Design, The Baltimore Sun, and Rewired.com. Miller is the author of three books: The Online Rules of Successful Companies, Point -- Click Linux!, and Point -- Click OpenOffice.org, all published by Prentice Hall. His most recent ventures revolved around Internet-delivered video, including video software "tours" and tutorials on Linux.com and his recent "side" venture, Internet Video Promotion, Inc. Miller has been a judge for the Lulu Blooker Prize and is on the online advisory board of the Online Journalism Review of the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California. (Biographical Info Quoted in Part from Wikipedia) Further reading: Linux Journal: RIP Robin "Roblimo" Miller.

Remembering Miller, ZDNet journalist S. Vaughan-Nichols wrote, "He was funny, bright, quick with a quip, caring, and wise. I, and many others who had the pleasure of knowing him, will miss him enormously." Paul Jones, Clinical Professor at the School of Information & Library Science, and Director of ibiblio.org, wrote, "Robin taught me many things, besides the immense gift of his friendship, including 'the way to make money on the internet is to take on more than you spend.' Both funny and accurate in context and very much true to roblimo." Writer and engineer Emmett Initiative said, "He was my editor, which means he was my best friend and worst enemy. He was a kind and thoughtful man that made every writer around him at least 300% better. I already miss him."

Comments

This sux.

[Grog6]

I for one, fondly remember the early days of Slashdot, where a single story could completely DDOS a website, creating the Slashdot Effect.

In his honor, I'm going to pour hot grits down Natlie Portman's pants.

Who's with me? :)

(just joking, Miss Portman; please don't send the Mossad after me)

RIP, RobLimo. :(

Re:This sux.

[Ami Ganguli]

I'm with you.

RIP RobLimo. Thanks for the memories. Obsessively reloading Slashdot was once a huge part of my life.

Re:This sux.

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Remember? Reloading several times, while a kernel-build finished?
Hail, 3-Digit UIDs.

Dear Slashdot management

[Anonymous Coward]

People like Roblimo and CmdrTaco put a ton of hard work and enegry into building Slashdot into what it once was. They obviously cared about their work beyond simply turning a profit. Please honor their work by keeping your promises to rebuild and improve Slashdot. You've made a lot of promises and users are sincerely hoping you'll finally start to keep them.

RIP Roblimo

It's sad to hear that a former editor from when I started reading this site has passed away. I remember what Slashdot was then, and those are fond memories.

Re:Dear Slashdot management

[xtal]

+1

I wonder if the community could raise enough funds to buy it back. I'd chip in to an effort.. and I know some of us lower UID people must have some resources available by now.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[Anonymous Coward]

Looking at the kind of ads mainstream tech outlets such as CNET and Engadget show on their websites, you have to acknowledge that Slashdot is in a much better state. The first thing the management did was remove video ads from the website, remember? Don't lose faith.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[whipslash]

Thanks. I still do read every story and comment sometimes. There are improvements coming this year I promise. It's a fine line to walk to improve but not do something stupid like beta again.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[whipslash]

No one's forcing you to be here, but continue commenting if it makes you feel better

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[Anonymous Coward]

I, for one, wish you were around more often. CmdrTaco and many of the other editors were often on IRC to chat with anyone who wanted to join the channel. Many nerds like myself spent a lot of time on IRC back in the day and it was a lot of fun. I, for one, would welcome you to mingle with Slashdot users more often.

As for changing Slashdot, if you read CmdrTaco's journal, you'll see he was frequently thinking of ways to tweak to Slashdot and try to improve it. A lot of small tweaks over time can add up to a much improved experience for users. And then share what you're doing, not necessarily in front page articles, but perhaps in a journal or blog, as a nerd sharing with other nerds the ideas you have to tweak the site.

Many of us complained incessantly about Slashdot, even back in the day. We fussed about the editors and the site. But most of us also knew how much the site to CmdrTaco and the others who helped build the site. He's a nerd like most of the people who commented here, so despite our complaining, we appreciated his work greatly. It's why most of the people who were around back then speak so highly about what Slashdot was like back then, even if we were the same people complaining back then. Even though I complain about Slashdot now, I have no ill will toward you or anyone else are Slashdot. Best wishes, sir.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[whipslash]

community just isn't what it used to be

Maybe it has to do with cantankerous people like yourself posting angry comments in order to compensate for the deeply unsatisfying or otherwise inadequate parts of your life? At least Slashdot is one of the last places you can still do that. Improvements are coming.

That's all I'll say to you, this post is about Robin.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[whipslash]

Thanks. It's not like I'm not constantly thinking of ways to improve. I have a list. It's a matter of resources. We've been focusing on getting SourceForge profitable so that we can then deploy those resources into improving Slashdot. We're almost there.

Re: Dear Slashdot management

[PolygamousRanchKid]

I always say:

"Slashdot is a free service . . . and worth more than every penny I pay for it."

You guys fended off the worst DDOS ever launched on the Internet.

Sure, times change and folks will whine at you, but please keep your faith, and keep up the good work.

There are those of us who still really appreciate having Slashdot, where we can rant about IT subjects that we have no clue about, and make wacky and outrageous comments.

And a few folks here will even understand our bizarre jokes.

Re:Dear Slashdot management

[scottrocket]

If CmdrTaco cared about Slashdot he wouldn't have literally sold out!

When you get married, and think about raising a family, sometimes you make choices that you think are necessary. RIP Roblimo. :(

RIP

[axehind]

Met him around 2002-2003 timeframe when we both worked at OSDN. He was a bright and funny guy.

RIP. Truly an American Icon. :D

[xtal]

RIP Roblimo.. and thanks for all the /.

Sad for such a 'young' man

[Teun]

One day we will all pass away and those left behind will grieve but at his age it is an even more sad occurrence.
I wish his family and friends strength and thank Robin for all the good he did.

Rest in Peace

[SuiteSisterMary]

Rest in Peace, and my condolences to friends and family.

RIP Roblimo!

[thule]

I remember the days when I saw that handle all the time on /.org. Thank you Roblimo!

Oddly enough, I don't recall seeing a picture of him until now.

The Old Days

[pi_rules]

As a tribute to the days of early Slashdot I suggest we post this article to the site no less than 4 times over the next 8 days. It's not what Roblimo would have wanted but it's probably what he would have done.

Thanks Rob

[tomtom]

Rest in peace.

Re:Frosty RIP

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Rob was what you might call a real mensch. Smart and a real sweetheart. I knew him personally, tho' not exceptionally well.

We shared close mutual friends, some going back more than 30 years.

RIP, Rob. Thank you.

Re:Frosty RIP

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Look at all the low UIDs who never post anymore, coming out with remembrance and farewell for Roblimo.

Thanks for all the fish.

Roblimo on "Geeks in Space"

[TheSync]

Roblimo was a special guest on this Slashdot Geeks in Space audio episode.

I remember when I met him!

[ovapositor]

I met Rob at a Linux conference in Atlanta around 1998-99...

We started talking and he was extremely excited and explaining about Slashdot's amazing rise.

He kept saying... "I'm "Phat" and sticky.. I'm Phat and sticky!!"

The "Phat" was the cool factor...and the sticky was how people just seemed to hang around on Slashdot all day. Obviously, it really helped Slashdot's value and worth.

Rob also showed me a picture of his lovely wife and told me how glad he was to be with her.

I left that conversation with a big smile on my face and hoped we would meet again soon.

Great job Rob!!

so long

[citylivin]

I always remember him as one of the better and less offensive submitter / editors.

Looks like he last posted in 2016 here

"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at."

Sure its taken out of context (he was talking about linux audio editing) but i think its a nice optimistic quote to have as your last post.

RIP

[thegreatbob]

Condolences to friends, family, and /. at large. To all you lower-than-my-UID guys out there, along with the folks running the place at the time, ya'll are the reason I got into slashdot in the first place, and a significant part of my early technological development. Fun reading through quotes from Rob:

I don't mind being considered an ass. After a whole bunch of years working on Slashdot, my skin is thicker than the armor on M1 Abrams.

Re:The real tragedy is...

[PolygamousRanchKid]

nobody has updated his Wikipedia page to report his death and it's even the primary article link!

. . . nobody has the heart to do it . . . posting that would break anyone's heart.

Goodbye, Robin!

[Bruce Perens]

Robin was friendly and helpful and took his work as a journalist seriously. His work had worldwide impact, a fact that wasn't always appreciated. Robin and I corresponded often online, and I had the pleasure to meet him in person several times, and to be introduced to his charming wife once. Goodbye, Robin!

Re:Frosty RIP

[Pseudonym]

Many of us also came from Usenet, where lurking for a while before posting was considered correct etiquette.